Owning Beauty (Taking Beauty Trilogy Book 3)

by Nikki Wild

  “I guess let’s head to the cabin. Sounds better than just sitting here doing nothing.”

  Nathan nodded and took a deep breath. He leaned into the back again and pulled the rest of his snow gear out, along with his bag.

  I did the same, bundling up like an Eskimo. If I was going to hike, I was going to wear every single piece of snow gear I had. The more layers, the better I’d be. It was a good thing Kelly and I had gone out shopping for brand new stuff last weekend.

  Not only would I be the most fashionable girl on the mountain, but I made damned sure I’d be the warmest.

  “Ready?” Nathan asked after we’d both bundled up. When I nodded, he gave me a shaky smile, then opened his door. “Let’s go then.”

  Nathan

  I frowned as I watched Sarah hike next to me, her arms wrapped around herself like she was freezing. There was no way that was true, judging by the truly impressive number of layers she’d managed to put on. Still though, I hated seeing her like this.

  I’d known she hated the cold, yet pushed her to come along on this trip. I had hoped she would have fun, once she got up to the resort and got out on the slopes. Besides, I was kind of looking forward to teaching her how to ski.

  It’d been a while since we’d done anything, just the two of us.

  Granted, there’d be a bunch of other people around. A group of my buddies were meeting us up there, plus I’d invited her best friend, Kelly, without telling her. I figured it’d be a nice little surprise and mood booster once we finally got there.

  If we got there.

  I’d just taken the damn thing in for maintenance too. But of course it had to go and break down in the middle of a freaking mountain, during a blizzard. Wasn’t that just my luck?

  But there wasn’t much I could do about it now. I just hoped there were people at the cabin or at least a phone so we could call for help or something. I hadn’t expected to not have cell service. I’d been to this lodge before and never had any issues.

  Once again, I felt like shit. I’d planned this trip. I’d talked Dad into footing the bill, which hadn’t been all that hard. And I’d convinced Sarah that it would be fun. And now, here we were, walking to some unknown cabin in a snow storm.

  “How’re you holding up?” I asked, eyeing Sarah. I bit my lip, waiting for her to lash out at me, waiting for her to call me an idiot and a thousand other names.

  Instead, she just shrugged, the movement barely noticeable beneath all her layers. “I’ll be better once we get to this cabin. How far back was it?”

  “Not far,” I said. I wasn’t exactly sure where the cabin had been. It’d barely registered on my radar when we’d been driving. At that point, it’d just been another part of the scenery.

  I didn’t stop to consider what I’d do if the cabin was abandoned. What other choice did we have, really? Sitting in the car wouldn’t have been much better, since I hadn’t seen any other cars in a while. Even before we’d broken down, I hadn’t seen anyone else.

  I doubted many people came this way. Most travelers would’ve taken the main road, rather than this side one. Not many people, other than regulars, would even know this route exists. I’d only learned about it two years ago, on a snowboarding trip with the guys.

  Hopefully someone would come by, and soon. I didn’t hate the cold like Sarah did, but neither was I found of freezing my nuts off for no reason. At least normally when I was out in weather like this, I was skiing or snowboarding, which kept my mind off how damn cold it was.

  When the cabin was finally in sight, I had to fight to keep from jumping up and down. Sarah, on the other hand didn’t fight that urge. She yelled out a “yippie!” before jumping up, her hands in the air like a cheerleader.

  That wasn’t the smartest idea though, since she lost her footing when she came back down, nearly falling on her ass. I put my arms around her to steady her and keep her from landing in the snow. Her breath came in short gasps as she leaned against me.

  I knew her heart had to be beating a mile a minute from the quick shock, so I just held her until she got her bearings again. After a moment, she stood up straight and took a step forward, looking back at me with an embarrassed smile on her face. Her cheeks were bright red, and I was pretty sure it was only partially because of the cold.

  “Thanks,” she said at last, her eyes downcast.

  I grinned, then patted her on the back. “No problem. Just be more careful, unless you fancy taking a snow bath!”

  Sarah grimaced, then shook her head before turning back toward the cabin. Grinning, I followed behind her. A small part of me did hope she’d fall into a mound of snow, just for something to laugh at for a few minutes.

  The cabin seemed deserted as we approached. There weren’t any cars nor any footprints. That didn’t mean too much though, since with all the snow falling, I doubted any tracks would be visible for very long. So we trudged up what was probably the drive way to the front door.

  I pounded on it a few times, loud enough to echo through the small cabin. When there was no reply or sounds of movement, I pounded on it again. “Anyone in there?” I shouted.

  Still nothing

  I looked over at Sarah and she shrugged. I took a deep breath, grasped the door handle, and turned. Surprisingly, it opened. There must not be many problems with thieves around this part, I figured. I inched the door open and peered inside.

  “Anyone there?” I yelled again, but there was still no movement.

  Frowning, I pushed the door open to reveal the tiny, one room cabin. There wasn’t much in there, but it was definitely empty and had been for at least a few months, judging by the amount of dust that had accumulated.

  Still, it was better than being out in a blizzard, so I walked inside, Sarah following close behind. The cabin was sparse, but cozy. It was probably a small hunting cabin, judging by the gun rack on the wall. That explained why it was empty, since no one in their right mind would try and hunt in this weather.

  “Look around,” I said, glancing back at Sarah. “See if you can find anything useful.”

  It didn’t take long to search the entire place. It was only a single room, after all, with a small broom-closet sized bathroom that only had a curtain for privacy. The tiny kitchen was well stocked though, assuming you liked canned beans of course.

  I held up two cans and grinned at Sarah. “Well, I hope you like chili.”

  She rolled her eyes and shook her head, then resumed going over the cabin. I wasn’t sure what she expected to find at this point, since it was pretty clear there wasn’t a phone or anything. There was nothing even remotely electric in this place. Even the stove was a wood-burning one.

  The cabin would keep us from being frozen alive out in the blizzard, but it wasn’t going to be much help in getting to the lodge. Unless the owners randomly decided to come out to their cabin in the middle of a storm, a swift rescue didn’t seem likely.

  “Now what?” Sarah asked, hands on her hips?

  I shrugged. “Well, I guess we hole up here until either someone finds us or the storm breaks.” I glanced out the window at the snow still rapidly falling and frowned. It didn’t look like it would stop anytime soon, so God only knew how long we’d be stuck in this place.

  I walked over to the small sink and turned it on. Thankfully, it seemed the pipes hadn’t frozen. It was like a small miracle, but a welcomed one at that. I let it run for a few moments, then stuck a finger beneath it, yanking it back almost right away.

  “Well, we’ve got water, but it only comes in one temperature – freezing.”

  Sarah snorted and grinned. “What did you expect? There’s not even a phone line, much less a hot water heater.”

  I stuck my tongue out at her and turned the sink off, leaving it so only a small stream continued to flow. I hoped that’d keep the pipes from freezing, though I wasn’t super optimistic. With everything that seemed to go wrong, I was surprised they hadn’t already frozen.

  I looked beneath the sin
k and found an old cardboard box. Grinning, I pulled it out and set it on the table before rummaging through my bag for a moment. When I found the marker I was looking for I quickly wrote HELP in big letters, with STRANDED just below it. Once I was done, I held it up for Sarah, smiling like a kid who’d just won the science fair.

  “I figure if we put out by the road, maybe someone will drive by and see it. Then we can get out of this place and not have to risk trying to hike the rest of the way up the mountain.”

  She pursed her lips, but nodded. “It’s better than doing nothing, I suppose. What are the chances of someone driving by?”

  “Probably not very high, but at least we’re pretty safe in here.”

  “I guess you’re right.” Sarah sighed and looked out the window at the falling snow for a moment. “Well, you get to go out and put the sign by the road, since this was all your brilliant idea.”

  Frowning, I nodded. She had a point. If I wasn’t for my damn car breaking down, we’d be nearly to the lodge by now, ready to start our vacation. Instead, we were stuck our here, with nothing but a dusty cabin and a year’s supply of canned beans.

  So I tightened my jacket back up and headed for the door. “Don’t run away!” I said with a wink as I headed back out into the tundra.

  Sarah

  I leaned against the window frame and watched as Nathan walked around, trying to find a way to set the sign up where someone could see it. The entire time I hoped someone would drive by and see him, rescuing us from this frozen nightmare.

  Eventually, Nathan hung his make-shift sign from a low hanging branch. Still though, not a single car had driven by. Hell, I hadn’t even seen a deer or a moose or any other type of wildlife. For all I knew, we were the only living things left on this mountain right now. The zombie apocalypse could’ve started and we’d have been none the wiser.

  After securing the sign, Nathan trekked back up to the cabin. But instead of coming inside, he walked around the side of the cabin.

  What was he up to now?

  When he didn’t reappear, I walked to the window at the back and peered out it. Nathan was shuffling around out there by what looked like a wood pile. He examined it carefully for a few moments. Then, he brushed some snow off the side and uncovered what looked like an axe.

  He shuffled around some more until he uncovered a small stump only a few feet away. He took one of the logs, knocked the snow off it, then place it standing up on the stump. I held my breath as Nathan removed his gloves and stuck them in this pocket before taking told of the axe again. I was sure Nathan was about to lose a hand or a foot or some other body part.

  But he lifted the axe high, then swung it down and split the log in a single motion. As I watched, he cut a few more until he had a sizeable pile at the base of the log. Even from the window and even with him wearing his winter gear, I could see his muscles flex and bulge as he swung the axe.

  Where’d he learns to do that? I wondered briefly. It wasn’t like he’d ever needed to chop wood back home. Even if for some reasons he’d needed firewood, he had servants and all to handle that type of work. Or he’d have sent someone down to the store to buy pre-chopped wood.

  I was actually pretty impressed by the time he leaned the axe back up against the wood pile. He’d chopped a good number of logs and it looked like he barely broke a sweat. Maybe he wasn’t just the spoiled rich boy I’d always thought he was. Then again, chopping wood wasn’t exactly rocket science.

  When Nathan loaded the split logs into his arms and headed for the cabin again, I ran over to the back door and wrenched it open. It squealed as I did, requiring all of my strength before it was wide enough for him to slip inside with his load. Then I had to use my shoulder to slam it closed again. Apparently whoever owned the cabin didn’t much use the back door or at least hadn’t in a long time.

  Nathan deposited the wood into a weird looking metal contraption that I’d seen but hadn’t been able to identify. When he stood up and began rubbing his hands together to warm them back up, he grinned at me.

  “Now we won’t freeze!” he said proudly.

  “How are we going to light it?” I asked, hands on my hips.

  Nathan’s smile disappeared, quickly replaced by a frown. He ran back over to the kitchen and began opening and closing drawers. Moments later, held up a box of matches in triumph. Then he disappeared behind the sink only to reappear holding some more cardboard.

  “To help get the fire going,” he explained as he walked back over to the fireplace. He tossed a couple logs inside, then arranged some of the cardboard around it. Once he seemed satisfied with his effort, he opened the box of matches, struck one, then brought it to the cardboard. The cardboard caught instantly, and a minute or two later, the wood began to burn as well.

  “There we go!” Nathan said as he stood up. “One fire! Now we can stay warm while we wait for someone to show up.”

  I walked back over to the window and stared out at the sign he’d put up. “What are the chances of someone showing up?”

  “I’m not sure,” Nathan said, walking over to stand next to me. “This is a back road that not many people know about. Plus, with the weather, most people will probably take the main road anyway. Maybe when the storm breaks we’ll get some people coming by. Until then, we’ll just have to sit tight.”

  I frowned. God only knows when the storm was going to break. If anything, it seemed to be getting worse out there. I could barely see our footprints from when we’d arrived and that hadn’t been all that long ago.

  At this rate, we were liable to be snowed into this place.

  “How long will the wood last?” I glanced back over at the pile he’d brought in.

  “A day or so, I guess.” He shrugged. “There’s plenty more outside. I’d just have to go out and chop it.”

  “Speaking of, where’d you learn how to do that? Was there a lot of wood to chop in Atlanta?” I smirked at him, then gently elbowed him in the ribs.

  Nathan laughed and shook his head. “I haven’t chopped wood in years. I used to be a Boy Scout though, and that’s one of the things they teach you?”

  “You were a Boy Scout? You?” I took a step back and looked him up and down before laughing.

  His snow gear may have been a bit more well used, but it was no less expensive than mine had been. Nathan had grown up with a silver spoon in his mouth, never having to work a day in his life. His father’s father had been loaded, and his father had grown their fortune through investments. Even now, Nathan had his own investment portfolio worth more than most people would make in a lifetime.

  To picture him sharing a tent in the woods with a group of other guys was laughable in itself. But to picture him actually getting his hands dirty by chopping wood or fishing or whatever else the Boy Scouts did? That was just too much to bear.

  “Yes, me.” Nathan rolled his eyes. “I was in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts growing up, thank you very much. And we do more than sit outside Wal-Mart selling cookies.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Please. I was never a Girl Scout. I was much too busy actually taking care of the house while Momma worked two jobs.”

  He needed the gentle reminder that not all of us had grown up without a care in the world. I may not have been able to chop wood, but I could cook, do laundry, sew, and scrub a house cleaner than any maid could. Before Momma met Nathan’s father, I’d had to do all of that.

  We hadn’t moved in with Nathan and his father until I was sixteen.

  Though, I had to admit, I’d taken to the upper class life like a fish to water. It was nice not having to do all the household chores. And it was nice being able to buy new clothes whenever I wanted, without having to worry if we’d have enough to pay the bills that month.

  Still though, Nathan deserved a bit of a reminder of how fortunate he really was.

  “Sorry,” he said, blushing. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

  I shrugged. It wasn’t a big deal. Besides, if I’d had his life, I probab
ly would’ve been a Girl Scout. I wondered briefly if they did the same things the boys did – camping, hiking, wood cutting. Maybe if I’d been a Girl Scout I wouldn’t have hated the cold so much.

  “Let’s just hope someone else is as crazy as we are and takes this stupid short cut of yours.”

  “Hey!” Nathan said defensively. “I resent that. This short cut would’ve knocked hours off our drive! Besides, the storm wasn’t that bad while we were driving. If we hadn’t blown that gasket, we’d have gotten to the lodge, no problem.”

  “Uh huh, sure.” I drew out the word and rolled my eyes for emphasis. Just because he’d been a Boy Scout didn’t mean he knew everything.

  Although, a part of my mind told me, you were perfectly willing to trust him earlier, when he said we’d get there quicker. And we probably would have, if we hadn’t broken down.

  But there was no way I was going to admit that to him!

  He needed to be knocked down a peg or two. And I was just the girl to do it.

  Walking away from the window, I started to remove my winter gear. It was still chilly in here, but I didn’t need to be bundled up like an Eskimo any more at least. The layers were definitely warm, but they weren’t the most comfortable thing to wear.

  Nathan followed my lead, removing his outwear as well. Soon, we were both in a sweatshirt and jeans. Along with the fire, it would be enough to keep us warm, so long as we kept the doors closed from now on.

  Nathan walked over to the bed and sat down on it, sending up a cloud of dust that had him coughing and covering his mouth and nose. I laughed as he stood up and tried to catch his breath. Now that was certainly a good way to knock him down a bit!

  Once the dust had settled, he pulled the outer blanket off and tossed it into a corner. Then he stood frowning at the bed, like he wasn’t quite sure what to do.

  Rolling my eyes, I walked over and nudged him out of the way. Chopping wood was easy to him. Cleaning a bed apparently wasn’t. I pulled the sheets off along with the pillow cases. They weren’t nearly as bad as the top blanket had been, but they still needed cleaning.